Ferdinand de Lesseps took no notice when he was warned about the perils that he faced when building the Panama Canal. His determination proved to be no match for the floods, subsidence, deadly insects and disease. The mechanical steam power of the day was not up to the task of cutting through the Culebra Divide, and neither were the 20,00 valiant workers. The inset shows doctors trying to cope with the horror of yellow fever which killed with terrifying speed. This is the original artwork for illustration on p7 of Look and Learn issue no 932 (1 December 1979). zBook zHistorical zAdventure zScience zSea/Maritime zLck